Benjamin Zephaniah
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Benjamin (Obadiah Iqbal) Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958, Handsworth, Birmingham, England) is a British Rastafarian writer and dub poet, and is well known in contemporary English literature.
Benjamin Zephaniah spent part of his childhood in Jamaica. In 1968, he gave his first performance in a church, and by 1973, he was well known in his home town for his art. He spent 2 years in prison as a young man for offences related to fighting[1].
Zephaniah published his first book of poems, Pen Rhythm, in 1980. It was so well received that three editions were published. His album Rasta, which featured The Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, gained him international prestige[citation needed] and topped the Yugoslavian pop charts.[citation needed] It was because of this recording that he was introduced to the political prisoner and soon-to-be South African president, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall.
In November 2003, Zephaniah wrote in The Guardian [2] that he was turning down the invitation to accept the honour of the position of Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) award from Queen Elizabeth II since it reminded him of 'thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalized'. He continued to say 'Stick it, Mr. Blair and Mrs. Queen, stop going on about empire.' It was unusual to do so publicly, since the convention for rejecting the award is to do so privately. He said that he had nothing against the Queen personally, and that 'She's a bit stiff, but a nice old lady.'
Zephaniah is a self-described passionate vegan, and an honorary patron of the UK Vegan Society. He is also the patron of the east London based anti-racist organisation Newham Monitoring Project. Benjamin is also a fan of Aston Villa Football Club. Zephaniah lives in East Ham, in East London, but often visits his mother in Handsworth.
Zephaniah has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of North London (in 1998), the University of Central England (in 1999), Staffordshire University (in 2002), London South Bank University (in 2003), the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster (in 2006).
[edit] Discography
- Dub Ranting (1982)
- Rasta (1983)
- Big Boys Don't Make Girls Cry (1984)
- Free South Africa (1986)
- Us an Dem (1990)
- Crisis (1992)
- Back to Roots (1995)
- Belly of de Beast (1996)
- "Dancing Tribes" (with "Back to Base") (single) MP Records, 1999
- "Illegal" (with "Swayzak") (single) Medicine Label, 2000
- Naked (2004) One Little Indian Records.
- Dancing in the Moonlight
[edit] Books
- Pen Rhythm
- The Dread Affair
- Rasta Time in Palestine
- City Psalms
- Talking Turkeys
- Funky Chickens
- Propa Propaganda
- Too Black, Too Strong
- Face
- Refugee Boy
- Gangsta Rap (short-listed for the 2006 Manchester Book Award)
[edit] External links and references
- Official site
- Rasta poet rejects honour from Queen, by Jane Wardell, Associated Press. Published by the Toronto Star on 27 November 2003.
- Rasta poet publicly rejects his OBE by Merope Mills, published by The Guardian on 27 November 2003.
- Benjamin Zephaniah — from The Black Presence in Britain
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | English poets | Peel Sessions artists | People associated with London South Bank University | People who have declined a British honour | English vegans | 1958 births | Living people | People with dyslexia | Jamaican-English people
